“I have to go to court in a few weeks. Because I have a prior record, my lawyer thinks I might have to do some time,” he says hesitantly. His eyes flash with uncertainty.
“Possession of a firearm. You’d have to do about six months,” I gasp, sitting up on the bed.
Six months?
I cover my face with my hands.
“Babe, it will be okay,” he soothes, rubbing my back. “You will be safe. That’s all that matters.”
“What happened with Arrow?” I ask him, turning to face him.
“He’s fine, and it’s all taken care of.”
“Dex—”
“You don’t want the details Faye, trust me on that.”
I sigh. “Shall we drive back now? Or tomorrow morning?”
“Paula insisted we stay for dinner,” he says. “How have you been feeling?”
“Tired, but everything else is fine. I saw the local doctor here, and everything is as it should be,” I assure him.
“Good,” he whispers. “Do you know how happy you make me? You’re all I could think about. If something happened to you…”
“I’m fine, it’s you who was in jail,” I say with an eye roll. And has to go back there for six f**king months. What the hell do I do with that information? He might be going away as soon as Clover is born.
“What are you thinking?” he asks, wrapping me in his arms.
“You aren’t going to be here for Clover and me,” I whisper. “I know it’s selfish to even say but…”
“It’s not selfish. I’m sorry Faye. Let’s not think about this right now.”
How was I supposed to not think about it?
Chapter Twenty Eight
We can’t keep our hands off each other on the drive home. Even if it was just my hand on his thigh, or him kissing my fingers, we stayed in contact as much as we could. We didn’t talk about his possible jail time.
I just wanted to enjoy the moment.
“How did you get involved with the Wind Dragons?” I find myself asking him.
He glances at me before answering. “After I left home, I went in search of my dad. Eric and I have different fathers, which I assume you know.”
I nod my head. Eric’s dad is a dentist who lives in Sydney.
“Turns out he was a member of the club but had died a few years back. Jim and him were best mates,” he says, sadness lacing his tone. “That’s how I met Jim. And the rest is history.”
“They became your family,” I say, looking down at our intertwined hands.
“It felt like I was close to my dad, even though he wasn’t there. It turned out that he wanted to be a part of my life, but mum said no. She didn’t want me growing up around the club, so he sent her money and that’s it. Jim did tell me that he came to my graduation, and he was proud as hell,” he says, the tone of his voice letting me know that it did mean something to him. His dad had loved him, even though he wasn’t able to be a part of his life.
My throat starts to burn. “Your mum did to him what I almost did to you.”
Clover would have gone to find her father and ended up hanging around the MC anyway.
He squeezes my hand. “All in the past babe. I’ve forgiven you, you should forgive yourself.”
“Did anyone get hurt?” I ask hesitantly. He didn’t want to talk about it, but I need to know what went down while I was away.
“Trace got shot in his arm, Rake is a little black and blue,” he says, looking straight ahead.
“Okay.” That’s not bad, I guess. “And then the cops raided the clubhouse?”
“Yeah, we had just let everyone clear out, lockdown being over when they busted in,” he replies. “People heard gunshots at the Wild Men clubhouse, and I don’t know, I guess they must have seen one of us around there. Both clubhouses were raided. Unlucky for them they were found with drugs, guns, and women who were there against their will. We were only caught with a couple of guns.”
“So they’re in big shit then?” I ask, unable to stop the slow spreading smile taking over my face.
“Bloodthirsty woman,” he mutters, but I see his lip twitching, giving away his amusement. “Now where are we going? To the clubhouse or to our house?”
I think about it. “Clubhouse. I think we should move into the house after Clover is born.”
“I love that you love it at the clubhouse,” he admits.
I shrug. “Those guys have grown on me. Everyone has, even Allie that bitch.”
Dex laughs. We’re silent for a few minutes, lost in our own thoughts.
“I miss Mary,” I whisper. “She didn’t deserve to die.”
“I know,” he replies. “She was a good woman.”
“Too good,” I say on a sigh. I hope she’s in a better place. They say death is easy, it’s living that’s hard. I love my life, and I wouldn’t say it was hard. But I understand when they say death is easy, because those people who pass away don’t have to live with the sadness and the pain of losing someone.
When we arrive at the clubhouse, my mouth drops open as I see the women standing there with pink balloons.
“What the hell is this?” I ask, excitement coursing through me.
Dex wraps his arms around me from behind. “Baby shower. This is my clue to leave. Brothers and I will be at the bar.”
Then he and anyone with a penis, within a one kilometer radius, leave the clubhouse without a backwards glance.